The British government under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s covertly supplied military equipment to Saddam Hussein's Iraq, according to once secret files being made public Friday.

The Financial Times said the files "contain an exhaustive list of equipment" that included Hawk fighter jets, Land Rovers, radar and spare tank parts.

Britain was officially neutral in Iraq's war with Iran, which began in 1980, and the Times noted it had also backed a U.N. resolution calling on its members to “refrain from any act which may lead to a further escalation and widening of the conflict”.

Britain later joined the U.S. in fighting Iraq when it invaded Kuwait in 1990.